African music, Marriott points, Steve Jobs and Avs musings

Visited the Apple Computer, Inc. “campus” tonight and came away thoroughly impressed – and thoroughly depressed. Yours truly has always beaten himself up for not being smarter at math and science, and tonight, after walking around the world that Steve Jobs built, it felt like one big advertisement of “You’re not smart enough to work here, Adrian Dater. No, not by a long, longshot.”
I was pretty good at English and all my writing classes throughout the schooling years (and I know a few of you chuckled in contempt just now).
But I was absolutely, absolutely philistine-ish stupid when it came to math and science. Maybe not totally in math. I did get a B in college algebra once. Sometimes numbers are presented to me and I can make sense of them.

But when it comes to things like “How does your computer work?” or “How does that little sexy voice on the GPS know where to go all the time?” or “How in the H E double hockeysticks am I able to have a little quarter inch wide, four-inch long piece of plastic and metal next to me feed me stereo quality African music right now as I’m typing this, and how is it that a picture of my wife and kid also appears on that very screen, along with the ability to call anywhere in the world and, oh, also check my email, play a game of chess, find a recipe for Thai chicken satay, and find out what the weather will be like tomorrow in Enfield, New Hampshire?”

There are people at the campus I walked around tonight who think the answers to those questions are akin to a tourist walking up to guard at Big Ben and asking what time it is.

I beat myself up constantly, saying to myself I should be one of them. I hate it that there are so many things I have no idea how they work, or how they were made. Just imagine, if you will, going back in time, to, say, a Civil War regiment.
Let’s say you were from 150 years in the future, and you told them: “You know, I know your last letter home took 23 days to get there. It’s soiled now, from being tramped through 1,500 miles of mud and maybe the occasional horse excrement. But what if I were to tell you that, where I’m from – and I want to tell you that I’m still in what you call this “country” – you could have typed a few letters on a little piece of plastic and metal and sent it to your loved ones in the time it took to hit the send button? Or, better yet, how about a picture that could have been sent of you to them in that same time frame, crystal clear?
I’d have been branded a witch and sent to the stockyard, right?

But this is precisely what we can all do now, of course. And it all seems so easy and everyday to me now, being the owner of an iPhone (paid for by fantasy baseball champion winnings). And yet, I still could not tell anybody anything at all about how these things works – and it FRUSTRATES THE HELL OUT OF ME.

I mean, I don’t beat myself up all that much about most things in life. People who know me only on the periphery might think I’m a bit arrogant – and I know I can be. But what I know is one thing. What these people at Apple know is something I have absolutely NO IDEA about. And that just bothers me to no end. And so, all I can do is sit here in this room and look at this little piece of plastic and metal and enjoy the soothing African rhythms coming out of it and, later probably, enjoy watching some videos from the YouTube “app” and just keep wondering over and over “How did they do that? How did they do that?”

A brief sidebar on the Marriott corporation before talking some Avs: The purpose of this blog is not to give free advertising. But I must say that the Marriott organization is, from what I’ve seen, the best-run American accomodation business ever. Never, ever a problem at a Marriott. It’s just one smooth wave from the time you walk in the door to your room and, ultimately, back out the door to airport when the stay is over. Honestly, I’ve been traveling 15 years now, have a pretty well known lack of patience about delays or lines or anything that slows me up, and with Marriott I just can never seem to find anything to complain about. The rooms are always clean and the staff is always, always, nice to you. I’ve got to hand it to them – they’re a great company for people like me. (And there are a lot of other good hotel chains too!)

OK, some hockey stuff:
– A few people have wanted me to spill the beans who I saw laughing and joking after the Avs’ 8-1 loss to the Oil Thursday night. You know what? I could start a whole big mess by writing what I saw and turning it all into a glaring, embarrassing spectacle.
But I’m not going to do it. What a player does off the ice or away from his place of business – and hanging around the hallways after a game is off the ice and away from business – is really none of mine. Yeah, I could still write it, though. I saw it, and if I wanted to write it, it technically would be within my right. A player or two laughing and joking right after the worst home loss in team history – that would be “news” in a sense.

But I’ve always pretty much told the many Avalanche players I’ve covered over the years the same thing: If I see you do something at a bar or at the hotel or we happen to bump into each other coming out of Shotgun Willie’s at 2 in the morning and I see you chumming around with a lady friend who may or may not be your wife, I don’t care. I just don’t.
I’m not going to be “Twittering” (god, I hate that word) into the paper after I see it. They are grown men and entitled to do whatever the H E double hockey sticks they want when the game is over and not have to worry about it appearing in the Denver Post in the morning. Now, the one thing I have always told players is, “If you get busted by the police for something, or even charged for something, then I have to put it in the paper. It’s a public record thing by that point, and I’ve got no say in the matter.”

Otherwise, I could see a player walking arm in arm with a transvestite back to the hotel at 2 in the morning, and I’m not going to care about it. It’s their private life. I draw the line at that. Talking in the halls after a game is part of their private life, I think.
Now, some might say “Well, you still wrote that you saw a player or two laughing and joking after the game, so you’re not averse to noting that, at least.”

And that’s true. But while I think the fact that a couple Avs players were, in fact, laughing and joking not even 10 minutes after the worst loss in home history, one that might cost the coach and G.M. their jobs and wasted the money of every paying customer that night, and I think it is fair to note that fact alone – I don’t think it would be fair to name the players specifically. I’ve seen people laughing and joking at actual funerals before. Sometimes that’s how they deal with death and despair.

– This season is going to be over in another 10 games, and it not only was the worst team I’ve ever covered (this officially will be the first losing team I’ve ever covered in 18 years of sports beat writing, including two Avs Cup winners, one Grizzlies IHL championship and two Colorado Foxes APSL Cups).
It’s also the most uninteresting group I’ve ever covered. Most of the Avs are decent guys, but there’s just not…much….personality there. Along with better skaters, shooters and passers, I hope the Avs start looking for more interesting human beings to fill future rosters. It’s always been my observation that the smarter a player is, in general and not just about hockey, the better they are as performers at their job. Patrick Roy wasn’t a Rhodes Scholar, but he had an insatiable curiosity about the game and the people playing against him, and all kinds of other little aspects of the game. Uwe Krupp was a good player, but he also spoke about three languages and listened to bands like Bush. Alexei Gusarov could talk Russian history with anyone. Mike Keane could finish a crossword puzzle in 10 minutes and then want to talk about the subjects of what some words represented. Shjon Podein wanted to talk local politics sometimes. Mike Ricci could talk Italian League soccer and make one hilarious observation about people after another.

This Avs team? This is what they’re almost all like: Game is over, shuffle off to shower, but give assembled press a couple of “This is what they told us to say in the preseason classes about talking to the media” quotes before they do. Then emerge in their Hugo Boss sport coat and slacks, chat on the cell for a minute or two with whomever is on the other line, head out to the lot and the either SUV Monster Suburban, Big Carbon Footprint Car or the nice little Mercedes coupe.

Good for them. But uninteresting overall. And I can’t help but think the less interesting you are as a person, the less interesting you are as a player.

PS: I’m going to meet after the game tomorrow with the popular Avs blogger Jibblescribbits, for an adult beverage or two. The dinosaur print, old world media guy meets the new-frontier, hip cyber guy. I may be math and science-challenged, but I’m not a snob.

Dater, you’ve just drawn the clearest line in sports journalism that I’ve seen. If it involves the police or the tax man it’s public record and you have to report it, if not, it’s their personal business.

A hundred otherwise good sports beat reporters should print out this post and Scotch tape it to the bottom drawer of their desk where they keep that bottle of bourbon hidden for late nights when they’re trying to find a story where none would otherwise exist.

And yes, this team is dying from dullness. Stan doesn’t seem to care about the ice below his hardwood now that his Nugs are on a tear, and that disinterest seems to filter all the way down to the puck-handling.

That first mistake — of quibbling over a few bits with Theo — is what started to unravel the sweater, and there is no way to believe that at some point, Stan himself didn’t make the decision to create an offer that Theo could not accept.

So now we were ripped apart by Edmonton, and I don’t know who was laughing in the hallway, but if it was Smyth than he is the one guy that can be forgiven for doing so, because Edmonton lost their favorite son in a way not too dissimilar from the way we lost Theo.

This loss must have hurt Smyth more than anything I could think, and I suspect he hasn’t been sleeping much lately after that loss and what could have been. How he sold away his future in the town he loved so well to move to the Island Girls and then to the team that Sakic convinced him was headed to another Cup. Now he finds himself walking through the Tabor Center after practice wondering when — or if — the Avs are ever going to be competitive again while he’s still in the Burgundy.

The turnarounds usually take years, but the one possibly reassuring thing here is that we hit the bottom faster than anyone else, so perhaps we’ll pull up faster than anyone else as well.

But I know that won’t happen with Stan employing milquetoasts like Granato and Giguere.

Mike Wofsey

Dater, you’ve just drawn the clearest line in sports journalism that I’ve seen. If it involves the police or the tax man it’s public record and you have to report it, if not, it’s their personal business.

A hundred otherwise good sports beat reporters should print out this post and Scotch tape it to the bottom drawer of their desk where they keep that bottle of bourbon hidden for late nights when they’re trying to find a story where none would otherwise exist.

And yes, this team is dying from dullness. Stan doesn’t seem to care about the ice below his hardwood now that his Nugs are on a tear, and that disinterest seems to filter all the way down to the puck-handling.

That first mistake — of quibbling over a few bits with Theo — is what started to unravel the sweater, and there is no way to believe that at some point, Stan himself didn’t make the decision to create an offer that Theo could not accept.

So now we were ripped apart by Edmonton, and I don’t know who was laughing in the hallway, but if it was Smyth than he is the one guy that can be forgiven for doing so, because Edmonton lost their favorite son in a way not too dissimilar from the way we lost Theo.

This loss must have hurt Smyth more than anything I could think, and I suspect he hasn’t been sleeping much lately after that loss and what could have been. How he sold away his future in the town he loved so well to move to the Island Girls and then to the team that Sakic convinced him was headed to another Cup. Now he finds himself walking through the Tabor Center after practice wondering when — or if — the Avs are ever going to be competitive again while he’s still in the Burgundy.

The turnarounds usually take years, but the one possibly reassuring thing here is that we hit the bottom faster than anyone else, so perhaps we’ll pull up faster than anyone else as well.

But I know that won’t happen with Stan employing milquetoasts like Granato and Giguere.

Aaron

I wouldn’t worry about your own personal intelligence. Everyone has their own personal genius and yours happens to be writing.

Just like a good hockey team, everyone has a different role to fill.

About the Avs, I don’t care who was laughing after the game. In my book that means exactly nothing. I myself have certain friends that I can laugh with no matter what. So, without knowing the context, it’s all hearsay.

I’ve seen enough of the players and coaches off the ice to know that they are human beings and have their own lives. I’m just as happy to let them live their lives off the ice.

I love the occasional feature story concerning a players’ life outside hockey (still love the Wojtek Wolski “Entourage” piece by the way) but other than that, let them live their lives.

As for interesting persons around the team, what is Cody McLeod like? Even though we have an uninteresting bunch, I’m glad we don’t have Sydney Crosby. That guy makes CSPAN look lively.

Aaron

I wouldn’t worry about your own personal intelligence. Everyone has their own personal genius and yours happens to be writing.

Just like a good hockey team, everyone has a different role to fill.

About the Avs, I don’t care who was laughing after the game. In my book that means exactly nothing. I myself have certain friends that I can laugh with no matter what. So, without knowing the context, it’s all hearsay.

I’ve seen enough of the players and coaches off the ice to know that they are human beings and have their own lives. I’m just as happy to let them live their lives off the ice.

I love the occasional feature story concerning a players’ life outside hockey (still love the Wojtek Wolski “Entourage” piece by the way) but other than that, let them live their lives.

As for interesting persons around the team, what is Cody McLeod like? Even though we have an uninteresting bunch, I’m glad we don’t have Sydney Crosby. That guy makes CSPAN look lively.

Drizzt

I was blown away in amazement September of 2007. My Mighty Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles had just been blown away by The Melbourne Storm in the Grand Final. After the match had aired in front of 90,000+ fans, they interviewed some of the forlorn Eagles stars in the dressing sheds. Without realizing what they were filming, an Eagles winger stood in front of his team mates, whirling his penis around in a circular motion, excitedly laughing (the editor of that station has been stood down funnily enough).
Now, that’s not the ideal attitude I thought at the time. Is his heart in it?
12 months later – my Eagles were back, in The Grand Final yet again – funnily enough against The Melbourne Storm. We won that day 40-0, and Robbo, the wang dance specialist scored three tries.
I think that says mountains about post game activities, and players attitudes once the whistle is blown, and the game starts.

As for The Avs – if you take a good hard look at the character of the man doing the hiring, you’ll find that the branches oft do not fall far from the tree.

We have a roster that the cap is about to spontaneously combust with. An over abundance of ageing blue collar players, and an over reliance on in house rookies.

The players are droll. Management are droll (credit where it is due though – Granato at least looks to have some personality), the product is droll. What this equates to, is a loss of revenue. Season tickets not being purchased. Vacant seats at Pepsi Center.

Who in their right mind is going to go out and buy a Nycholat, Willsie, Tjarnqvist, Raycroft, Budaj, Peltier, Dupuis, Tucker, Galiardi, Hendricks, Durno, Vernace, Campbell, Salei, Hannan, Arnason and co. jersey? These names should tell you exactly why there are vacant seats. All these players FG has bought on board.

I can liken FG’s ability to put a squad together, similar to when I am creating and submitting a large corporate credit submission for 26 million dollars. I put garbage in, I get garbage out.

AD, the only way we will ever see some positive change, is when we have a passionate leader who has a solid grasp on reality.

Seriously – FG has just suggested the only reason there are empty seats in Denver, is because of the economy. That says to me he’s either dumb, has a lack of what reality, or there is a huge disconnect between him, and us.

I actually can’t believe you guys in the media buy that dribble. Or is it you don’t believe it, but cannot pull him up on it? Then you guys put it to print. Wow – please think higher of your readers than that (I’m not talking about your article either AD).

And if we as an organization are relying on Ruslan Salei to “spark us”, then we are truly doomed.

Drizzt

I was blown away in amazement September of 2007. My Mighty Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles had just been blown away by The Melbourne Storm in the Grand Final. After the match had aired in front of 90,000+ fans, they interviewed some of the forlorn Eagles stars in the dressing sheds. Without realizing what they were filming, an Eagles winger stood in front of his team mates, whirling his penis around in a circular motion, excitedly laughing (the editor of that station has been stood down funnily enough).
Now, that’s not the ideal attitude I thought at the time. Is his heart in it?
12 months later – my Eagles were back, in The Grand Final yet again – funnily enough against The Melbourne Storm. We won that day 40-0, and Robbo, the wang dance specialist scored three tries.
I think that says mountains about post game activities, and players attitudes once the whistle is blown, and the game starts.

As for The Avs – if you take a good hard look at the character of the man doing the hiring, you’ll find that the branches oft do not fall far from the tree.

We have a roster that the cap is about to spontaneously combust with. An over abundance of ageing blue collar players, and an over reliance on in house rookies.

The players are droll. Management are droll (credit where it is due though – Granato at least looks to have some personality), the product is droll. What this equates to, is a loss of revenue. Season tickets not being purchased. Vacant seats at Pepsi Center.

Who in their right mind is going to go out and buy a Nycholat, Willsie, Tjarnqvist, Raycroft, Budaj, Peltier, Dupuis, Tucker, Galiardi, Hendricks, Durno, Vernace, Campbell, Salei, Hannan, Arnason and co. jersey? These names should tell you exactly why there are vacant seats. All these players FG has bought on board.

I can liken FG’s ability to put a squad together, similar to when I am creating and submitting a large corporate credit submission for 26 million dollars. I put garbage in, I get garbage out.

AD, the only way we will ever see some positive change, is when we have a passionate leader who has a solid grasp on reality.

Seriously – FG has just suggested the only reason there are empty seats in Denver, is because of the economy. That says to me he’s either dumb, has a lack of what reality, or there is a huge disconnect between him, and us.

I actually can’t believe you guys in the media buy that dribble. Or is it you don’t believe it, but cannot pull him up on it? Then you guys put it to print. Wow – please think higher of your readers than that (I’m not talking about your article either AD).

And if we as an organization are relying on Ruslan Salei to “spark us”, then we are truly doomed.

Gino

I agree that things that happen after a game or away from the rink shouldn’t be fair game, but this also shows that hockey in the US is oh so less important than hockey in Canada. That’s not a knock on your not giving the names by the way — any of us who watch the games can tell that the players have stopped caring. But, if a reporter in Montreal saw a couple of players hamming it up after last night’s loss to Toronto, do you think it would make the papers there? You bet it would. Those players would be in HE double hockey sticks for doing that.

Thanks for keeping us entertained. I’m still wondering how the guy in the fridge knows when to turn the light on and off.

Gino

I agree that things that happen after a game or away from the rink shouldn’t be fair game, but this also shows that hockey in the US is oh so less important than hockey in Canada. That’s not a knock on your not giving the names by the way — any of us who watch the games can tell that the players have stopped caring. But, if a reporter in Montreal saw a couple of players hamming it up after last night’s loss to Toronto, do you think it would make the papers there? You bet it would. Those players would be in HE double hockey sticks for doing that.

Thanks for keeping us entertained. I’m still wondering how the guy in the fridge knows when to turn the light on and off.

Ken J.

Not talking about personal lives? That’s pretty old school. Nice to see in this “expose them for everything to get ratings” world we live in.

Ken J.

Not talking about personal lives? That’s pretty old school. Nice to see in this “expose them for everything to get ratings” world we live in.

Keith

You know AD if we were all the type that could make computers and do math then the world would be a pretty boring place. I know that there are some Apple people that wish that they could do your job.

Now… as far as the boring Avs. Do you think that some of it could just be that they hate their jobs right now? I think we all know that losing just ain’t fun. And I know that on days where I don’t have some fun with what I do, I put my head down, talk to someone on the phone and rush of to my nice little non-Mercedes. On a day where the office is more than tolerable, but actually enjoyable, I tend to hang out and chat with friends afterward and talk politics or history or whatever. If my job was going as poor as the Avs’ are right now, I think I would be just as uninteresting and uninterested.

Keith

You know AD if we were all the type that could make computers and do math then the world would be a pretty boring place. I know that there are some Apple people that wish that they could do your job.

Now… as far as the boring Avs. Do you think that some of it could just be that they hate their jobs right now? I think we all know that losing just ain’t fun. And I know that on days where I don’t have some fun with what I do, I put my head down, talk to someone on the phone and rush of to my nice little non-Mercedes. On a day where the office is more than tolerable, but actually enjoyable, I tend to hang out and chat with friends afterward and talk politics or history or whatever. If my job was going as poor as the Avs’ are right now, I think I would be just as uninteresting and uninterested.

jimbo

I like your take on leaving personal lives out of the newspaper, but I still don’t know why you had to mention (and then defend mentioning) a couple Avs laughing after a bad loss. It doesn’t tell us anything other than that maybe they were happy to be off the ice. Perhaps they understand that even when they get walloped, it’s still just a game.

If they were brain surgeons and they just screwed up and killed a kid on the operating table, yeah, I can see how seeing them laughing and joking ten minutes later would be troubling. But this is not a life and death job they have there… let them unwind after a bad day at the office! The time for them to be all upset after losses was two months ago… they know that one more loss doesn’t mean anything in a season like this. When they skate like they know it (as they did against the Oil), then call them out on it. But to even mention how they act after the game is not newsworthy.

jimbo

I like your take on leaving personal lives out of the newspaper, but I still don’t know why you had to mention (and then defend mentioning) a couple Avs laughing after a bad loss. It doesn’t tell us anything other than that maybe they were happy to be off the ice. Perhaps they understand that even when they get walloped, it’s still just a game.

If they were brain surgeons and they just screwed up and killed a kid on the operating table, yeah, I can see how seeing them laughing and joking ten minutes later would be troubling. But this is not a life and death job they have there… let them unwind after a bad day at the office! The time for them to be all upset after losses was two months ago… they know that one more loss doesn’t mean anything in a season like this. When they skate like they know it (as they did against the Oil), then call them out on it. But to even mention how they act after the game is not newsworthy.

jibblescribbits

It’s… ummm… interesting that the 8-1 loss to Edmonton drew comparisons to a funeral. Accurate, and interesting.

“Popular” may be a bit of an overstatement. I think “tolerated” would be a more appropriate description.

Looking forward to tonight.

jibblescribbits

It’s… ummm… interesting that the 8-1 loss to Edmonton drew comparisons to a funeral. Accurate, and interesting.

“Popular” may be a bit of an overstatement. I think “tolerated” would be a more appropriate description.

Looking forward to tonight.

Casimir Pulaski

A.D. Love the blog today, but as a world geography teacher for 7th graders, I must remind you that Africa is a continent, not a country! Do you know what specific country your music came from while you were typing the blog? It must have been enriching, as this was one of my favorite blogs I have read all season. As far as the players who were laughing after the game, it really upsets coaches who think the least a player could do after being embarrassed is to look like you care more than what they did after that particular disaster against Edmonton.

What I’m most curious about at this point is what the Avs will do leading up to draft day – would you be willing to put together some scenarios for us faithful blog readers? Do you feel anyone (hopefully Tucker) will be bought out, with the 33% leftover money being used to help sign a quality goalie? Maybe after the Stanley Cup finals, we can hope that the losing g.m. will look at our roster and think “we were only a (insert player’s name here) away from winning it all, and make a deal with us over the summer. Thanks for the blog, A.D.

Casimir Pulaski

Casimir Pulaski

A.D. Love the blog today, but as a world geography teacher for 7th graders, I must remind you that Africa is a continent, not a country! Do you know what specific country your music came from while you were typing the blog? It must have been enriching, as this was one of my favorite blogs I have read all season. As far as the players who were laughing after the game, it really upsets coaches who think the least a player could do after being embarrassed is to look like you care more than what they did after that particular disaster against Edmonton.

What I’m most curious about at this point is what the Avs will do leading up to draft day – would you be willing to put together some scenarios for us faithful blog readers? Do you feel anyone (hopefully Tucker) will be bought out, with the 33% leftover money being used to help sign a quality goalie? Maybe after the Stanley Cup finals, we can hope that the losing g.m. will look at our roster and think “we were only a (insert player’s name here) away from winning it all, and make a deal with us over the summer. Thanks for the blog, A.D.

Casimir Pulaski

Eric The Red

AD- Thanks for the explanation

Jibbles- You can’t have my bud light, but I still love you, man…

Eric The Red

AD- Thanks for the explanation

Jibbles- You can’t have my bud light, but I still love you, man…

Mark

AD,

I asked for the names but did not expect them. I knew you had to draw the line and appreciate the respect and integrity you have shown. Thank you for providing the fans insight into our local team.

I must say I totally agree with you on the type of player on the Avs team right now. You can just tell when watching what type of depth, imagination and passion a player has.

I also agree with the skill level of the current Avs “team”. Terrible passing, dmen and forwards. This organization has made so many bad decisions in the last 3+ years that I don’t see it turning around next year. The quote from Giguere the other day “It’s the economy” was amazingly self serving and insults the intelligence of every Avs fan.

So many people have fallen in love with this team… I started playing hockey 2+ years ago on a lunch league team. I have skied, mountain biked, snowboarded for many years… but the thrill of playing hockey (Once I could skate) is something I would never have enjoyed if not for the Avs and the boom of new ice rinks in this state they brought.

There are people out there that can make the Avs a winner again. Lets go get them.

Mark

AD,

I asked for the names but did not expect them. I knew you had to draw the line and appreciate the respect and integrity you have shown. Thank you for providing the fans insight into our local team.

I must say I totally agree with you on the type of player on the Avs team right now. You can just tell when watching what type of depth, imagination and passion a player has.

I also agree with the skill level of the current Avs “team”. Terrible passing, dmen and forwards. This organization has made so many bad decisions in the last 3+ years that I don’t see it turning around next year. The quote from Giguere the other day “It’s the economy” was amazingly self serving and insults the intelligence of every Avs fan.

So many people have fallen in love with this team… I started playing hockey 2+ years ago on a lunch league team. I have skied, mountain biked, snowboarded for many years… but the thrill of playing hockey (Once I could skate) is something I would never have enjoyed if not for the Avs and the boom of new ice rinks in this state they brought.

There are people out there that can make the Avs a winner again. Lets go get them.

Mark

By the way… it’s my 40th birthday today. Hopefully the Avs can win one today! or not. It’s hard to want them to lose for the number one pick. I can’t seem to do it… I will keep trying.

Just a note… don’t want anyone to lose their job in this global meltdown… It’s just these guys are getting paid handsomely and they have not gotten the job done.

Mark

By the way… it’s my 40th birthday today. Hopefully the Avs can win one today! or not. It’s hard to want them to lose for the number one pick. I can’t seem to do it… I will keep trying.

Just a note… don’t want anyone to lose their job in this global meltdown… It’s just these guys are getting paid handsomely and they have not gotten the job done.

Cody

I respect your stance on the issue, but I think what happened the other night is directly connected to the game and why the Avs are so horrible. It wasn’t players walking out of a bar at 2 am, it was players in the hallway outside the locker room, 10 minutes after the game, laughing it up as if they didn’t give a damn about how poor they or the team just played.

You don’t have to give names, but I don’t see this as infringing on their personal lives. It was post game stuff within the building in which they just played the worst home game in history the history of the Avalanche.

How is it any different than writing about Ben Guite staring into the wall?

I’m glad you at least shared that tidbit about them laughing it up because it is very telling about this team.

Cody

I respect your stance on the issue, but I think what happened the other night is directly connected to the game and why the Avs are so horrible. It wasn’t players walking out of a bar at 2 am, it was players in the hallway outside the locker room, 10 minutes after the game, laughing it up as if they didn’t give a damn about how poor they or the team just played.

You don’t have to give names, but I don’t see this as infringing on their personal lives. It was post game stuff within the building in which they just played the worst home game in history the history of the Avalanche.

How is it any different than writing about Ben Guite staring into the wall?

I’m glad you at least shared that tidbit about them laughing it up because it is very telling about this team.

Av’s fan in exile

Hey AD: I think this is your best post of the season; thank you for your honesty and integrity. I have to tell you, that while players laughing and joking after the worse home loss in francise history bothers me…it doesn’t bother me near as much as Giguere’s comment about empty seats at the Pepsi Center being “because of the economy”. This statement truley spells out the Avs biggest problem…Mr. Giguere.

Mr. Giguere; you are correct it is a poor economy; but how does putting such a shit product on the ice help the Avs through a bad economy? I think there are lots of people like me who while now watching what we spend and where we spend it, would still spend a couple hundred bucks to take the family to see the Avs if you had a quality product to sell. So Mr. Giguere, I blame you for the empty seats and your utter lack of respect for Avalanche fans. What you have done is taken a once proud franchise and created a pathetic hockey team and one that looks to stay pathetic at least the near future. You see Mr. Giguere, even if the GDP had grown by 50% this year, there would be empty seats at the Pepsi Center because of your bonehead moves and attempt to sell “hockey on the cheap” in Colorado. If you had any balls or integrity, you would resign right now. How many reasons are there; the signing of Hannnah started it; then letting Bruno go for Tucker? Are you serious. Keeping a couple of Junior League goalies instead of paying Theodore the $1M he wanted after we stick with him through his “troubled time”? How about Wolski and Svatos; where is the superstardom you are paying them for? Could it really be they are just average hockey players you have over paid? No point man on the PP for two season and a bench full of US collegiate hockey players instead of the Candians and Euoropeans who can make a difference. Are you even scouting there? I could go on and on…So Mr. Giguere; what else can I say but you suck, you suck not only a hockey General Manager, but you probably could not even run a succesful 7-11 if you had a chance. You have ruined this organization for perhaps a decade and you still have the balls to take a paycheck…unbelieveable.

Av’s fan in exile

Hey AD: I think this is your best post of the season; thank you for your honesty and integrity. I have to tell you, that while players laughing and joking after the worse home loss in francise history bothers me…it doesn’t bother me near as much as Giguere’s comment about empty seats at the Pepsi Center being “because of the economy”. This statement truley spells out the Avs biggest problem…Mr. Giguere.

Mr. Giguere; you are correct it is a poor economy; but how does putting such a shit product on the ice help the Avs through a bad economy? I think there are lots of people like me who while now watching what we spend and where we spend it, would still spend a couple hundred bucks to take the family to see the Avs if you had a quality product to sell. So Mr. Giguere, I blame you for the empty seats and your utter lack of respect for Avalanche fans. What you have done is taken a once proud franchise and created a pathetic hockey team and one that looks to stay pathetic at least the near future. You see Mr. Giguere, even if the GDP had grown by 50% this year, there would be empty seats at the Pepsi Center because of your bonehead moves and attempt to sell “hockey on the cheap” in Colorado. If you had any balls or integrity, you would resign right now. How many reasons are there; the signing of Hannnah started it; then letting Bruno go for Tucker? Are you serious. Keeping a couple of Junior League goalies instead of paying Theodore the $1M he wanted after we stick with him through his “troubled time”? How about Wolski and Svatos; where is the superstardom you are paying them for? Could it really be they are just average hockey players you have over paid? No point man on the PP for two season and a bench full of US collegiate hockey players instead of the Candians and Euoropeans who can make a difference. Are you even scouting there? I could go on and on…So Mr. Giguere; what else can I say but you suck, you suck not only a hockey General Manager, but you probably could not even run a succesful 7-11 if you had a chance. You have ruined this organization for perhaps a decade and you still have the balls to take a paycheck…unbelieveable.

JTG: I don’t know. I just tune into the “African Music” on my AOL Music app on my iPhone, and listen to song after song. I probably should know more who is playing and download a few songs, and probably will at some point.

Adrian Dater

JTG: I don’t know. I just tune into the “African Music” on my AOL Music app on my iPhone, and listen to song after song. I probably should know more who is playing and download a few songs, and probably will at some point.

Jacyln

I second the suggestion to have more articles about the guys who are personalities on the team, someone like McLeod. What is that guy’s story?

I agree that the one comment about some players laughing and joking just doesn’t have enough context to be something to call out. But why not name names on who you feel like doesn’t care any more? That should be info that Avs fans would like to know so we have an idea who we don’t want to come back on our team.

The part about the personalities was hilarious, but at the end of the day it doesn’t make someone a bad hockey player just because he’s more of an average guy persona wise. Don’t you feel like maybe an easy going guy like Sakic set the tone in the lockeroom? All the fans and the media complain in the other sports is to make the flamboyant personalities go away. Everyone was traumatized with the thought of TO playing for the Broncos because of all the “drama” he brings. I don’t think it is easy to have it both ways.

Jacyln

I second the suggestion to have more articles about the guys who are personalities on the team, someone like McLeod. What is that guy’s story?

I agree that the one comment about some players laughing and joking just doesn’t have enough context to be something to call out. But why not name names on who you feel like doesn’t care any more? That should be info that Avs fans would like to know so we have an idea who we don’t want to come back on our team.

The part about the personalities was hilarious, but at the end of the day it doesn’t make someone a bad hockey player just because he’s more of an average guy persona wise. Don’t you feel like maybe an easy going guy like Sakic set the tone in the lockeroom? All the fans and the media complain in the other sports is to make the flamboyant personalities go away. Everyone was traumatized with the thought of TO playing for the Broncos because of all the “drama” he brings. I don’t think it is easy to have it both ways.

Jeru1975

I, too, requested to have the names revealed but I completely understand and respect the decision not to publish them. Glad to see there is still a little integrity left in the media world!!

BTW, Marriott may be a great place to stay but is a horrible company to actually work for. As someone who was employed there for many years, I never agreed with many of their policies and procedures. No offense to anyone who is happily employed there.

Jeru1975

I, too, requested to have the names revealed but I completely understand and respect the decision not to publish them. Glad to see there is still a little integrity left in the media world!!

BTW, Marriott may be a great place to stay but is a horrible company to actually work for. As someone who was employed there for many years, I never agreed with many of their policies and procedures. No offense to anyone who is happily employed there.

Terry Frei graduated from Wheat Ridge High School in the Denver area and has degrees in history and journalism from the University of Colorado-Boulder. He worked for the Rocky Mountain News while attending CU and joined the Post staff after graduation. He has also worked at the Oregonian in Portland, Ore., and The Sporting News. His seventh book, March 1939: Before the Madness, was issued in February 2014.

Chambers covers college and professional hockey for The Denver Post. He has written for the Post since 1994, after dumping his first 9-to-5 office job a couple years out of college. He primarily follows the University of Denver hockey team and helps cover the Avalanche.